Throughout the world there are all sorts of different things that people believe in. Not everyone has the same views on things whether it be able sports, politics, or the normally hot topic of religion. In each form of religion there are different views, whether they are big or small, on how people see Heaven and Hell, God, or read the stories that each Bible has. Even though there are differences there are also some similarities within each religion as well. In the following discussion I will go over the differences and similarities between the Islamic perceptions of Heaven and Hell and the Christianity and Judaism views as well.

Heaven: In the Islamic view the central goal of life is to believe in and serve God so that one day they can be accepted into Heaven. By serving God and doing other good deeds the people of the Islam culture can then enter into Heaven, or Paradise, as it is also called, and the people who have not will otherwise be cast into Hell. It is their belief that their actions is what will truly get them assigned to either Heaven or Hell. It is also in their belief that humans will be resurrected then brought to God for judgement. One other thing is that in the Koran time is taken to describe Heaven, saying that “Heaven includes plentiful food and drink, without any feelings of satiation or intoxication.’ In contrast the Christianity and Judaism do not mention such a description. It just really states that sadness, pain, and other ailments will end for good. Another difference between the Islamic views and Christian and Judaism views about Heaven is the way that people can pass into Heaven. In the Christian and Judaism view a person needs to repent for the sins that they made in life and “get right with God’ before being allowed into Heaven. But, it is said that God is very loving and a person will not be punished for something they did not do. They should also live a good life though, by doing right and not wrong. This belief can somewhat intertwine with the Islamic views of what it takes to get into Heaven if it is thought about. While the views of Heaven can agree and disagree between religions one thing will always be true, Heaven will always be believed in by these three religions. This then brings us into the beliefs about Hell.

Hell: It just about goes without saying that if there are differences between these religions and Heaven that there will be some sort of difference between these religions and Hell. I’ll begin with Islamic views on Hell. The Islamic religion views on Hell are definitely different from that of Christianity and Judaism. In the Koran Hell is mentioned frequently and described as having 7 doors to 7 different levels. The 7 levels are there representing how terribly you sinned. That meaning that depending on how bad of a crime or wrong doing you committed is which level you will enter into. It just about goes without saying that level 1 is the worst punishment one could suffer. In the Christian and Judaism belief system Hell is seen as a place that you don’t necessarily have to spend the rest of your afterlife there and is only a single level. There is also the added purgatory when it comes to the Christian religion. Similarily these three religions do believe that you can get out and be forgiven by God. More comparison could be made yet but I feel as this comparison topic on Hell was the best to choose.

As above shows, there are a few differences between how these three religions view Heaven and Hell. However, while there are differences there are similarities as well. In one way or another everyone’s religious views are somehow intertwined whether they realize it or not. While I do believe in God and some of my views differ from other peoples it doesn’t mean that it should be a cause for argument. Having different beliefs about things in life is what makes everyone unique and that should be embraced more often instead of being causing arguments between religions. These days it does seem like everyone is more tolerant of each other, but I believe there is still some progress that needs to be made if we can one day hope to live in a world of harmony.

Works Cited

“Heaven in the Quran.” About. Web. 2 Oct. 2014. <https://islam.about.com/od/heavenhell/tp/Heaven-In-The-Quran.htm>.

Discussion Question 2

In our lifetime’s we are all going to come across many things that we think we do not deserve to have happen to us. While these things can be big or small most of us usually work through it, sometimes with difficulty but we still do nonetheless. It is very likely that we will never have to make it through something as terrible and powerful as the situation that Job went through, but to some it may seem like it. Job went through such an ordeal with all of his animal herds being destroyed and his children all dying while having a dinner together. Most people would never be able to cope with a situation like that. It would most likely ultimately kill them as well.

Job accepts God’s assertion of divine power because he realizes that nothing on Earth is as significant as God. He has created the human race and everything else that we know, so who is Job to question the person who has created all of that and knows all else? Once God gives Job a speech asking questions and somewhat demanding an answer, Job finds that he cannot answer any of those questions and replies “I see how little I am. I will not answer You,’ (147). That is why he does not press for an answer to his questions about his misfortune. He realizes that while he does run his life it is only to an extent, some things are beyond his power and now he has been humbled of that. That is why he then becomes satisfied with what he is given. He learns to be thankful for what you have and not to take it for granted because one day it could all be destroyed and disappear. Then once he learns this lesson he has good fortune returned to him once again.

I believe that overall the end of the dialogue was very satisfying. Job accepts what God tells him even though he doesn’t fully understand everything that he is told. I’m almost positive that everyone has blind faith in something whether it be believing in God and His will or just something that they are taking a chance on in life. So when God asked Job some difficult questions like “[h]ave you ever reached the depths of the sea and walked around there, exploring the abyss?’ (145) or “[c]an you thunder at the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?’ (146) and Job had no answers he realized what God wanted him to. I think that God wanted him to just believe in His will. Whatever happens, it happens for a reason, whether it be good or bad. That makes me think of the quote “God gives his hardest battles to his toughest soldiers.’ I feel like Job is one of His toughest soldiers since he was dealt such a terrible hand yet he handled it with the most grace that anyone could in a situation like that. So sometimes I believe everyone just needs to have a little faith.

Discussion Question 3

Everyone has some sort of internal battle with themselves about what they are supposed to pursue in their future. The only thing that is really different between each and every one of us is what the battle is between. That can depend on the family a person is born into or the era that people are born into. Everything in life has some sort of opposition to it; it is just deciding what is the best way for you to live your life. After putting some thought into question number 3 I believe that The Warrior Code and The Familial Code are mutually exclusive in some sort of way. One reason, or the main reason, that these codes are mutually exclusive is because it is hard, if not impossible, to put full effort into two things at once.

           vs.          

To make the decision to start a family is a life changing choice. Raising a family is a tough thing to do. So many components and responsibilities come into play when you have a significant other and then adding children to the mix makes the whole thing called life even more complex. Just to get a two person family starting out there is a whole list of things that could benefit them.

• A house
• A car
• A savings account
• A reliable job
• Time

That list could keep going on for a little ways yet too. Then once a couple gets most or all of the things on that list fulfilled they may decide they want to have some children. Once that decision is set in motion another list comes into play and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Having a family is an investment that a person makes. In The Iliad Hector has both a wife and child and is a warrior in the war. It seems as though it isn’t working out very well though. Hector’s wife asks him to stop fighting. However, he doesn’t do that and ends up being killed. Even though he tried choosing both in the end the warrior part of him seemed to have won and he went down as a warrior not a family man. That is one good example showing how those two codes are mutually exclusive.

To make the decision to become a warrior is also life changing. But, it doesn’t seem as though a person needs to have as many material things. Their list isn’t quite as long unless it comes to qualities that the person holds.

• Weaponry
• Armor (of some sort, depending on the era)
• Strength
• Courage
• Health

Those are really just a few of the things that a warrior would need and those main things that a he/she needs have to do with them, and only them, as a human being. They don’t necessarily have to worry about a family or any other people. While they do try and protect their fellow soldiers they don’t have anyone that they need to support with money and other objects that go along with being a family person. They live more day by day, I feel not necessarily planning for a future after the warrior part of their life is up. Achilles just pursued the war basically and worked to beat the people opposing him. He didn’t really have much time for a family.

While in this day and age many soldiers that are across seas do seem to have families I still think that The Warrior Code and The Familial Code are mutually exclusive of each other. Like I said above it is very difficult, if not impossible, to put full effort into two things at once. It’s really a choice between one or the other to me because this are two hugely life changing codes that a person must put a lot of effort into.

Discussion Question 1:

Stages of the Hero’s Journeyare definitely present in the story of Gilgamesh. They are actually quite easily identifiable if you know the definition and what to look for. Right from the first few pages of reading how Enkidu was born and what his purpose was really showed the Call to Adventure and reading a little further in it was easy to identify Gilgamesh’s as well. Since there is a Hero’s Journey for both Gilgamesh and Enkidu I am going to be somewhat intertwining them together in my description of each stage.

The first stage is the Departure. The Call to Adventure really begins when Gilgamesh tells Enkidu that he must go into the forest and kill Humbaba, who is a guardian of the Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh must slay him in order to prove how great he is and make sure that everyone knows his name and remembers him. There is no real refusal of the call from Gilgamesh however, Enkidu thinks it’s not a very good idea. They pursue it nonetheless though by preparing for this trip. They have many very heavy weapons made to bring along with them. Enkidu in this story is kind of Gilgamesh’s mentor or supernatural aid as it says under the Departure title of the online sheet we read. He goes along with Gilgamesh to help protect him from dangers and somewhat counsel him in the process. Then the Crossing of the First Threshold comes into play. This happens when it is time for Gilgamesh and Enkidu to leave the city of Uruk and embark on the journey of killing Humbaba. The Belly of  the Whale part would lastly be when they come into contact with Humbaba.

The next stage is then Initiation. The Road of Trials I would have to say is when they enter the forest and begin the search for Humbaba. They have finally reached their destination they had set off for in the beginning. Initiation really comes into play when Gilgamesh and Enkidu begin the fight with Humbaba. Gilgamesh overcomes his  fears and together him and Enkidu fight together to overcome this huge obstacle. After a fight and somewhat of a confrontational talk they are able to kill Humbaba. Ishtar then comes and wants to marry Gilgamesh and offers him majesty and wealth. Much happens and Gilgamesh pretty much rejects the marriage and while Ishtar runs to her Father her Father doesn’t really seem to want to listen to her pleads and sorrows about what Gilgamesh has said to her. One other really big part of the Initiation stage is Enkidu’s death. Since Humbaba was killed the other gods find it only fair for either Gilgamesh or Enkidu to die as well. It really hurts Gilgamesh and takes us to the last stage of the Hero’s Journey.

The last stage is the Return. Gilgamesh decides that he will not return right after this. He then goes on the search for Utanapishtim, the only survivor of the flood. During the journey to find him Gilgamesh comes in contact with others and ends up having to persuade a scorpion monster into letting him pass through a tunnel. He also talks to one other person before finally coming into contact with Utanapishtim. Utanapishtim ends up helping Gilgamesh recover from his sorrows by basically telling him how lucky of a person he is to mostly divine. This helps Gilgamesh snap back to reality somewhat. Towards the end of the entire story Gilgamesh is given the Plant of Everlasting Life, however, it gets stolen during his return trip to Uruk. When Gilgamesh finally returns though he writes his stories on a wall and he will always be remembered even once he is gone. This is his way to still become immortal, through his stories. That is where he really becomes the Master of Two Worlds and has the Freedom to Live.

These 3 stages with their sub stages as well are easily seen throughout the story. I personally think that there are quite a few instances in which many things that happened can count as one stage or even be a part of a couple stages in the Hero’s Journey. It’s intriguing to think that this long ago there was still a present path of a Hero’s Journey in this story when the Journey probably wasn’t even thought of when writing this story out.

Discussion Question 1:

Well I am going to follow suit with just about everyone else so far and pick a Disney movie that depicts the Hero’s Journey. Disney has always done such a good job with following the Hero’s Journey line of events. The movie that I found that follows that is Disney’s Planes. After thinking about it for a short bit I was able to come up with a scene for each line of events. The basic storyline behind Planes is that there is a crop duster plane named, Dusty, who is tired of being a crop duster. He wants to race like other planes do and pretty much right at the beginning makes the choice that that is what he is going to do. That is where the story line begins.

The shortened version of the scene that depicts the Departure stage of the Hero’s Journey is when Dusty is crop dusting some fields like he normally does and starts doing maneuvers. At that point in time he really decides that he wants to be able to go fast and race with the other planes. He feels as though he shouldn’t be set in one job, especially one that he feels he doesn’t fit into. That scene fits into the Call of Adventure portion of Departure. There is somewhat a Refusal of the Call when it comes out that Dusty is afraid of heights. He feels as though he may not be able to compete as well against the other planes because of this. However, he doesn’t necessarily plan on letting this stop him. He does have some sort of aid in his journey though. Skipper is an old Navy plane that helps Dusty train and become quicker and more efficient in his flying skills. He then sets out on his journey to prove his worth to the other planes.

The shortened version of the Initiation portion of the Hero’s Journey is next when Dusty enters himself into the race. He overcomes a huge obstacle in his way by doing this for the first time. While many of the other planes, competitors and not, laugh at him he pushes through and races his heart out to end up coming in 6^th. After initially not placing into the big race someone ends up not being able to race in that and Dusty is bumped up into it. This is the big adventure that he has been waiting for and wanting all his life and he ends up taking part in this race. During this race his fear of heights comes into play however, he is able to overcome it and complete a daring part of this race. Continuing on with Initiation he meets a woman plane that is also taking part in the race. When Dusty falls on some hard times with parts, Ishani, helps him by giving him some of her spares so he can continue racing.

Lastly is the shortened version of the Return. Dusty ends up being the winner of the entire race and shows everyone that even a crop-dusting plane can compete and win. Sometimes there is more to someone than it seems and they just need to be given that chance to shine. He wins the blessing of his mentor Skipper and all of the people that thought he would never be able to accomplish his dreams. He even aids his mentor by helping him gain enough confidence to fly again. Since Dusty was able to accomplish his dreams he was able to become a master of both crop-dusting and racing. He can now do whichever he chooses which was always really his dream. He now has the freedom to live his life however he chooses.

While this is only a kids movie it can still be analyzed to conform to the Hero’s Journey. Kids may not be able to understand it very well if at all but they still see it in nearly every Disney movie that has ever been made. I feel like that is an amazing thing, it is something that is consistent in real life and thinking about it deeper I feel like it applies to almost everything in life. We all overcome obstacles and in some way we go through this Hero’s Journey to get through it. It’s awesome to be able to see that in movies as well.